2024 All-Star

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Paolo Banchero among 7 most improved All-Stars

Breaking down how several 2024 honorees have taken their games to new levels.

John Schuhmann

Archive

Updated on February 14, 2024 3:05 PM

All-Stars Shai Gilgeous-Alexander (left) and Paolo Banchero have elevated their play this season.

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Some All-Stars have been All-Star-caliber for years now. But some have been playing at a much higher level this season. Here’s a look at the All-Stars that have seen the most improvement from last season.

1. Scottie Barnes, Toronto Raptors

Barnes had a disappointing second season after winning the 2021-22 Kia Rookie of the Year award. But he’s taken a big step forward this season.

Barnes has averaged 37.6 points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per 36 minutes, up from 29.7 per 36 last season. That’s the biggest jump among 265 players who’ve played at least 500 minutes in each of the past two seasons.

He’s seen the ninth-biggest jump among that group in points per 36 minutes (from 15.9 to 20.4) and the fifth-biggest jump in blocks per 36 minutes (from 0.8 to 1.5).

Barnes has also seen a significant jump in efficiency, registering a true shooting percentage of 56.6%, up from 52.4% last season. That’s the 26th biggest jump among 226 players with at least 200 field goal attempts in each of the past two seasons and the second biggest jump among 2024 All-Stars.

Scottie Barnes, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	28.6	29.7	52.4%
2023-24	36.6	37.4	56.6%

PRASB/G = Points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per game
PRASB/36 = Points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per 36 minutes
TS% = True shooting percentage = PTS / (2 * (FGA + (0.44 * FTA)))

2. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Oklahoma City Thunder

The 25-year-old has gone from All-Star to Kia MVP candidate.

Gilgeous-Alexander has seen jumps in points, rebounds, assists and steals per 36 minutes. He’s the league leader in steals per game by a healthy margin, with his jump from last season (1.6 to 2.2) being the seventh biggest among 301 players who’ve played at least 25 games in each of the last two seasons.

He’s also seen a significant jump in true shooting percentage, from 62.6% to 64.9%, the second-highest mark among the 16 players averaging at least 25 points per game.

He still has a low 3-point rate and has seen a drop in free throw rate from last season, but he’s shot a career-high 58.4% on 2-pointers, up from 53.3% last season.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	44.3	44.9	62.6%
2023-24	46.3	48.2	64.9%

3. Paolo Banchero, Orlando Magic

Barnes’ Rookie of the Year successor is the youngest and only first- or second-year All-Star.

Banchero has averaged 36.4 points + rebounds + assists + steals + blocks per game, up from 32 last season. That’s the fourth biggest jump among All-Stars.

He’s also seen a jump in efficiency along with a jump in usage rate, registering a true shooting percentage of 54.1%, up from 52.9% last season. That’s the 10th biggest jump among the 26 All-Stars.

Banchero is averaging a team-high 5.4 minutes of possession per game, up from 3.9 (third on the Magic) last season. With that, his assists per game have gone from 3.7 to 5.2 per game, the 19th biggest jump among 301 players who’ve played at least 25 games in each of the last two seasons.

Paolo Banchero, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	32.0	34.1	52.9%
2023-24	36.4	37.5	54.1%

4. Tyrese Maxey, Philadelphia 76ers

The Sixers traded a 10-time All-Star but had another star ready to step up.

Maxey has averaged 25.6 points per game, up from 20.3 last season. That’s the eighth-biggest jump among 301 players who’ve played at least 25 games in each of the last two seasons and the biggest among 2024 All-Stars.

His jump in assists per game (from 3.5 to 6.4) is the biggest among those 301 players.

Those improvements have come with significant jumps in minutes per game, time of possession and usage rate. Maxey has seen a drop in true shooting percentage, from a career-high 60.5% last season to 57.4% this season. That ranks 15th among the 16 players averaging at least 25 points per game.

Tyrese Maxey, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	27.7	29.7	60.5%
2023-24	37.1	35.9	57.4%

5. Joel Embiid, Philadelphia 76ers

He won the MVP award last season, and he’s been better this time around.

Last season, Embiid averaged 34.4 points per 36 minutes. This season, he’s averaged 37.4 per 36, which would be the highest scoring rate in NBA history.

That jump ranks 28th among the 265 players who’ve played at least 500 minutes in each of the last two seasons. He ranks higher in regard to rebounds per 36 (from a career-low 10.6 to 11.9, 18th) and assists per 36 (from 4.3 to a career-high 6.0, 13th).

Embiid’s true shooting percentage of 64.5% is down from 65.5% last season but is still the second-highest mark of his career. The scoring increase is more about a jump in usage rate, with Embiid’s usage rate of 38.6% being the third highest for any player in the 28 seasons for which we have play-by-play data.

Joel Embiid, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	50.1	52.1	65.5%
2023-24	55.2	58.4	64.5%

6. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana Pacers

The two-time All-Star is leading the most efficient offense in NBA history.

Haliburton is leading the league with 11.7 assists per game, with his jump in assists per 36 minutes (from 11.2 to 13.2) being the seventh biggest among 265 players who’ve played at least 500 minutes in each of the last two seasons.

His jump in assists has come with a drop in turnover rate, from 8.6 to 7.7 per 100 possessions used. His assist/turnover ratio of 4.85 would be the second highest for a player who averaged at least 10 assists per game in the 46 seasons in which turnovers have been tracked.

Haliburton’s effective field goal percentage of 59.1% is also the highest mark of his career. He’s shooting a career-best 60.7% in the paint and his 54.1% from mid-range is the second-best mark among 78 players with at least 75 attempts.

Tyrese Haliburton, last 2 seasons

Season	PRASB/G	PRASB/36	TS%
2022-23	36.9	39.5	62.4%
2023-24	39.1	44.1	62.5%

7. Giannis Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee Bucks

The two-time MVP might be having his best offensive season.

Antetokounmpo has registered a true shooting percentage of 64.8%, the best mark of his career and up from 60.5% last season.

His 2-point percentage is a career-best 64.8%, up from 59.6% last season, and more of his shots have been 2s. He’s taken just 9.4% of his shots from 3-point range, his lowest rate since his second season in the league.